Gleanings from the life of Samson – Part 10

Text: Judges 16:15-20

Key Verse: Judges 16:17, “That he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” (NKJV)’

Samson had broken the vow of consecration as a Nazirite and his resistance was becoming weaker. He now approached the dangerous ground of his unshorn hair. Delilah had failed the third time to sexually lure Samson into revealing to her the source of his power, but the Bible said it came to pass when she pestered him daily with her words, and he told her the secret of his might. Samson finally yielded to Delilah’s terrible manipulation. This was eliminated in stages and dying instrumentally. I once read about how to boil the toad and boil it to death. I read that if you put it in water, put the water on the fire and begin to heat the water, the temperature will be changing gradually. The toad will remain in the water and the temperature will be changing until the water starts boiling and the toad is gone.

Allegedly, the toad is not able to detect the gradual increase in temperature until it is too late. This is a typical example of how the devil can be eliminating our spiritual lives in stages, one stage after another stage and after all, when you get up and preach, people will clap and say, this is great. After all, when you pray, maybe the blind will see and they say this is great, but the devil is working in stages and God is waiting for somebody to realise himself and say, I have dishonoured the vow, I have dishonoured the pledge and the devil is after me. Delilah pressured Samson day after day with her words until she wore him out (Judges 16:16).

Why did Samson remain at that point? Why did he remain there? Are you remaining there? You know that the devil is destroying your life, the devil has been stealing your spiritual authority, you are still there doing what you have been doing all along, doing that evil, committing that wickedness, you are still there, whatever that abomination was, you are still there. Maybe you are deceived that despite your wickedness, you are still receiving favours and the devil will tell you that you see, you have done nothing wrong. And God continues to be patient and He moves from patience to long-suffering and you still continue.

Samson told Delilah, no razor has ever come upon my hair for I have been a Nazirite from my mother’s womb, if I am shaven, I shall become weak and become like any other man. When Delilah saw that he has told him all his heart, she told the Philistines to come up once more. The Philistines came up to her and she lulled him to sleep on her laps. She began to torment him until his strength left him. That is what the devil will do as strength left you. She said to Samson, the Philistines have come up against you and Samson arose and said, I will go out as before, at other times but he did not know that the Lord Has departed from him and truly now he became like any other man. Once the Lord departs, we all will become like ordinary people. You become very ordinary, ordinary to Satan, ordinary to all the small demons that you have been ordering to get out of the way.

Today’s Nugget: Do not bow to the pressure of sin.
Prayer: Lord, help me not to bow to the sexual enticement
Prayer lines: 08054477940.
E-mail: servantofgod111@yahoo.com
Rev. Pastor Ejikeme Ejim, General Superintendent, Assemblies of God Nigeria